Pura Vida Yoga Teacher Training

Established 2026

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Pura Vida Yoga School

Program Instances

In person

Feb 6 – May 2, 2027

86 days • 200 hours • $ 2447+

Toledo, OH, US

Led by

Erika Peters

CYT-L3

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Purpose

Pura Vida Yoga Teacher Training offers a welcoming space to deepen your practice, find your voice, and explore yoga as a gentle guide through life. We weave together multiple styles and lineages to create a well-rounded program for aspiring teachers and lifelong students alike. Through study, personal reflection, and practice, students explore all eight limbs of yoga: ethical principles, personal observances, postures, breathwork, turning inward, concentration, meditation, and absorption. Our curriculum integrates anatomy, alignment, accessible movement, sequencing, teaching skills, and ethics with the energetic and spiritual dimensions of yoga. Across seven immersive weekends, students learn in community, with time between sessions to integrate their discoveries into daily life. Those who choose to teach develop the skills and confidence to guide thoughtful, inclusive classes rooted in their own practice.

What to expect

Expect a welcoming, immersive learning experience with space to practice, ask questions, reflect, and grow in community. Each weekend weaves together movement, breathwork, meditation, philosophy, anatomy, and teaching practice, including exploration of yoga’s energetic and spiritual dimensions.

We meet every other weekend, Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m., beginning February 6–7. The program includes seven core weekends, with an optional eighth weekend for sound healing training. Between sessions, you’ll have time to explore what you’ve learned and integrate it into your practice and daily life.

Certification will be through the American Yoga Council. Completion requirements and certification details will be shared before enrollment.

Whether you plan to teach or are joining to deepen your personal practice, you’ll have opportunities to build confidence, strengthen your understanding, and find your own connection to yoga.

Style/Lineage

Our program integrates multiple yoga styles and lineages, weaving together traditional teachings, practices, and philosophies to create a well-rounded teacher training experience.

Additional Information

Core competencies

By the end of this program, graduates will be able to…

Yoga History & Theory	Explore the teachings that inform our practice: Describe the significance of the yoga sutra, bhagavad gita, and upanishads, including their key ideas, historical roots, and associated practices. Discuss the connections between yoga’s foundational texts: Compare how these texts have shaped yoga over time, noticing their shared themes, distinct perspectives, and influence on the ways we practice today. Bring subtle body philosophy into practice: Create a two-hour workshopvexploring traditional teachings on chakras & bandhas. weave these concepts into asana, pranayama, and meditation to offer students opportunities for exploration and reflection. Reflect on yoga’s guidance for daily life: Discuss the central teachings and aims of patanjali’s yoga sutra and the bhagavad gita. identify the five yamas and five niyamas within patanjali’s eight-limbed path, and explore how these principles can inform our choices, relationships, and practice.
Anatomy, Physiology, Biomechanics	Understand how the body moves in asana: Identify the key muscles that move and stabilize the shoulders, spine, hips, knees, elbows, wrists, and ankles, and explain how they support purposeful movement and stability in yoga postures. Honor the uniqueness of each body: Describe how differences in bone structure, joint shape, connective tissue, and functional ability influence asana. use this understanding to guide accessible, individualized alignment and practice. Recognize when a posture needs to be adapted: Identify contraindications and alignment concerns for each asana taught in the program. explain which structures or body systems may be affected and how props, variations, or alternative postures can support the individual. Explore yoga’s relationship with the nervous system: Describe the role of the central nervous system and how asana, pranayama, and meditation can influence stress responses, attention, and body awareness. Understand the connection between breath and body: Describe the basic anatomy and physiology of the respiratory system, including the diaphragm’s role in inhalation and exhalation. explain how breathing patterns used in diaphragmatic breathing and pranayama can influence the nervous system.
Business Skills	Create a thoughtful plan for your first year of teaching: Outline achievable professional goals for 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after certification, with space for your interests and teaching path to grow. Offer constructive feedback on a peer’s five-year business plan: Explore who they hope to serve, how they plan to reach students, how they will measure progress, and whether their timeline supports their goals. Design a workshop that meets a need in your community: Develop a focused offering that reflects your interests and strengths, along with a marketing plan to help it reach the people it’s intended to serve. Understand the practical side of teaching yoga professionally: Explain the role of liability insurance, student waivers, and tax planning in establishing and maintaining your teaching work.
Lifestyle & Ethics	Reflect on your daily breathwork: Practice describe how five minutes of pranayama each day has influenced your life throughout the training, noticing any physical, mental, or emotional changes. Create a personal code of conduct for your teaching Identify the values and ethical guidelines that will guide how you teach, including your scope of practice and professional responsibilities. Explore what it means to act with care and integrity: Discuss how ahimsa (non-harming) and satya (truthfulness) inform your choices as a yoga teacher. reflect on your role in encouraging a consistent, sustainable practice while honoring each student’s needs and autonomy. Bring bring your values into the classroom: Apply ethical guidelines through clear communication, consent-based interactions, inclusive language and cueing, and appropriate professional boundaries. Explore the eight limbs of yoga: Describe patanjali’s eight-limbed path, including each of the five yamas and five niyamas. explain the differences between pratyahara (turning the senses inward), dharana (concentration), and dhyana (meditation), and how they relate to one another.
Practice Skills	Bring ayurvedic principles into daily life: Explore practices that support balance in relation to your unique constitution, your environment, and the rhythms of the seasons. Build a thoughtful foundation in asana: Practice the foundational postures taught in the program with attention to alignment, individual needs, and ways to reduce risk. use props safely and purposefully to support your practice. Develop a consistent personal practice: Create and document a regular practice that weaves together asana, pranayama, and meditation, with space to reflect and adapt as your needs change. Explore the foundations of meditation: Practice core meditation methods, including finding a stable, supported seated position and using breath awareness to develop attention and presence. Build confidence in breathwork: Practice dirga swasam (three-part breath), nadi shodhana (alternate nostril breathing), ujjayi (victorious breath), and kapalabhati or bhastrika with attention to technique, appropriate pacing, and individual suitability.
Teaching Skills	Guide a layered breathwork practice with care: Offer clear guidance for a pranayama practice that includes mudra and breath retention, when appropriate. support students with comfortable posture, clear hand placement, accurate breath counts, gentle pacing, and options to adapt or leave out retention. Guide complete asana practice with clarity and warmth: Use supportive cues that help students explore complementary actions, connect movement with breath, and find a comfortable pace. introduce postures by their sanskrit names while offering accessible explanations. Create classes built with care and intention: Develop a one-hour sequence working toward a peak pose and offering options for different experience levels. include a thoughtful warm-up, postures for all four parts of class, and transitions that suit each style.

AYC allows each school to state and evaluate the competencies each student acquires. Students rate how well the program delivered them.

Program Emphasis

Evaluation methods

Program evaluations

Group Project Or Presentation
Solo Project Or Presentation
Graded Demonstration
Written Submission
Direct Observation
Graded Skill Demonstration

Student evaluations include solo projects, group projects, graded demonstrations, and written submissions. These offer students different ways to share their understanding, put their learning into practice, and grow in confidence.

Projects and written work explore yoga philosophy, anatomy, ethics, sequencing, personal practice, and the business of yoga. Graded demonstrations assess students’ ability to practice and guide asana, pranayama, and meditation with clear communication, thoughtful alignment, and adaptations that honor individual needs.

Throughout the training, students receive constructive, supportive feedback to recognize their strengths and identify areas for continued growth. Our evaluation process supports both personal exploration and the development of knowledgeable, compassionate, and responsible teachers.

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Program Faculty

Featured Faculty

Erika Peters

I’m Erika Peters, owner of Pura Vida Wellness Studio. Yoga saved my life. Practicing since 2014, teaching since 2016, and a business owner for six years, I pour my heart into creating a space where others feel welcome, supported, and connected.

Toledo, OH, US

Policies

AYC Policies

Progam Code of Conduct

Refund Policy

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